Related
WTH (I want to swear really).
I've been wanting a less beasty tablet than my Iconia A500 for awhile and I wanted a nook, but Bozo the clown ceo at BN decided on a locked boot loader. I bought the 7" GTab plus at best buy friday night, decided for the extra $50 the 8.9 was the better deal and it is a far superior design to the iconia. Just returned from exchanging it.
However to my surprise, no microsd card slot, I'm like WTF. Im torn, this is a great tab, and I was going to start messing around with ICS on it, but I kind of feel cheated for the $$ I paid, accept for IOS I should just go get a iPad (I know no sd slot either, the point is it was a selling point to be able to upgrade)
I mean I don't really know how often I used my external but it does help with transfering data, and holding extra music.
Am I returning this tab too soon without giving it a fair chance? god I hate touchwiz..
otherwise I love samsung hardware, my GS2 ATT is a dream phone (with cm7 on it).
There's a USB adaptor Samsung sells.
Omg and i yell at people for not using google lol. Ok feel slightly better now thanks!
Sent from my GT-P7310 using xda premium
adw launcher ex
And I guess you know there is an alternative to touchwiz called adw launcher ex
with tethering (still good for now as i'm unlimited on both verizon and sprint) i find storing stuff on the "cloud" makes me kinda not miss the microsd. i've even ended up swapping out my 32GB cards with 16s in my phones. keeping the 32's as back up.
mainly netflix and google music free up good space on my tablets.
Maybe you should reconsider buying $500 electronics without doing ANY research.
KitF said:
Maybe you should reconsider buying $500 electronics without doing ANY research.
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You don't have to be a jerk about it, I did plenty of research, but I've become so accustomed to droids having the microsd slot, that I didn't notice it not being in the description. After spending the last day with it I rather like it, I'm reconsidering it for other reasons now, mainly the slu of new tabs just around the corner.. but I think it has a chance of replacing my iconia, the damn thing is HUGE compared to the Galaxy!
Wow just noticed I messed up the tread title and put microusb, good times!
Yeah, I tried to boycott samsung too for the no usb, no micro sd choices and ended up with the iconia.
It was too heavy so now I have the 8.9. Wish manufacturers would go for USB 3.0 instead of these lame ports.
Hi all. Im considering to buy a touchpad for personal uses. I understand that webOS is rather ok, except for the lack of applications to play around with and thus android is there to save the day. However are there any major bugs in the android alpha builds? The price to me is very reasonable. Another thing that worries me is the internal memory, that is if the 16gb will run out fast? Please, any touchpad users just help me to recommend, that would be great!
Buying HP Touch pad and have ICS on it is worth it. After ICS update on HP Touch pad I have compare Motorola XOOM and HP Touch pad they both look same you will lot and lots of money buying HP Touch pad.
At firesale prices? Yes. Otherwise, why not wait for the next wave of ICS tablets to come out?
Its not really that firesale pirced where i'm from... abour 170USD.. but thats considered affordable still to me. But is it worth getting one? As in would i regret once i bought it?
thunderskain said:
Hi all. Im considering to buy a touchpad for personal uses. I understand that webOS is rather ok, except for the lack of applications to play around with and thus android is there to save the day. However are there any major bugs in the android alpha builds? The price to me is very reasonable. Another thing that worries me is the internal memory, that is if the 16gb will run out fast? Please, any touchpad users just help me to recommend, that would be great!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
WebOS is under sung. It has some really cool features, and I'm personally hoping to see it grow and expand in the coming years.
That said, there's also Android. But as skypagers fails to point out...there are still quite a few significant bugs to be worked out in both Gingerbread and ICS builds. Including camera functionality, including chat (in both GB and ICS), video playback, including youtube (in the ICS builds), skype etc etc etc. The sh*t crashes and you might get force-closes and reboots...they're not uncommon at all.
But really it's personal preference. If you've got the scratch, just get a 64GB Transformer Prime with the docking station. If money means nothing, then avoid the HPTP. It's high maintenance, and still everything doesn't work. If you're looking for a badass deal on a great tablet that let's you modify, hack and tweak the f*ck out of it...then the HPTP is for you.
I got 2 32GB's in the 2nd firesale and my wife and I both love them. But my roommate just got his Transformer Prime...let's just say that now, I'm strongly considering selling mine to upgrade to the 700 when it drops in a few months.
I agree with danknee, if you can wait and have the loot. Get something that will be less maintenance. But if you can get a kickass deal, which would put a HPTP in your hands tomorrow...why wait?
I personally like web os better than Android. If you install preware and adjust a few things, the touchpad is rather enjoyable. While there is a lack of apps, if you're plans for the touchpad are mostly web browsing, music, video playback, and an occasional game, you'll have no regrets. And if you get bored or find yourself needing more, there's always android.
BTW, I own 2 32gb touchpads, one dualboots with cm7 and the other cm9. Space has never been an issue either. I have all seasons of archer, ugly Americans, bobs burgers, a half dozen hour long comedy specials, and a few gigs of music. With all that, still have 11gb free. So space hasn't been an issue yet.
sean is here. said:
WebOS is under sung. It has some really cool features, and I'm personally hoping to see it grow and expand in the coming years.
That said, there's also Android. But as skypagers fails to point out...there are still quite a few significant bugs to be worked out in both Gingerbread and ICS builds. Including camera functionality, including chat (in both GB and ICS), video playback, including youtube (in the ICS builds), skype etc etc etc. The sh*t crashes and you might get force-closes and reboots...they're not uncommon at all.
But really it's personal preference. If you've got the scratch, just get a 64GB Transformer Prime with the docking station. If money means nothing, then avoid the HPTP. It's high maintenance, and still everything doesn't work. If you're looking for a badass deal on a great tablet that let's you modify, hack and tweak the f*ck out of it...then the HPTP is for you.
I got 2 32GB's in the 2nd firesale and my wife and I both love them. But my roommate just got his Transformer Prime...let's just say that now, I'm strongly considering selling mine to upgrade to the 700 when it drops in a few months.
I agree with danknee, if you can wait and have the loot. Get something that will be less maintenance. But if you can get a kickass deal, which would put a HPTP in your hands tomorrow...why wait?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for the in deph analysis. I have to agree with what you said there. Understand the new ics tablets are a better choice for now but yeah, money wise is an issue so I have to lower my limits. Basically I don't really hve any uses for a tablet but just wanna get one so as to experience the tablet feel and when time to come I'm bored, I could just sell it off. So high priced tablets are a no go for me. Besides, the transformer prime does not seem to be available in my country yet.
Based on everyone replies, I think I could make a better choice now! Thanks guys!
Sent from my HTC Pyramid using xda premium
Consider this: ASUSEee Pad MeMO 370T. For about $250 you get a quad core 7" that comes with ICS. Of course you are going to have to wait to get one like the rest of us until the second quarter of the year. I'm planning on picking one of these bad boy when it comes out.
For what you want to do, no. For learning how to mess around with this stuff, sure. But its not a reliable device for everyday use not yet at least. Wait for the new wave of tablets and get something from a decent company like Asus or Samsung .
Fehnix22 said:
For what you want to do, no. For learning how to mess around with this stuff, sure. But its not a reliable device for everyday use not yet at least. Wait for the new wave of tablets and get something from a decent company like Asus or Samsung .
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This is good advice. I'd also say that even if you do get your Touchpad running Android as well as the rest of us, there might be some issues that will never go away. I'm not sure there are enough developer resources to fix the spotty WiFi, the sound distortion on sleep, the camera, or the dozens of other little imperfections. It's a device for the hobbyist.
I have most of my music collection on my 16 GB Touchpad and still have a few gigabytes left. It's good enough, although you'd only be able to store half a dozen movies on there at once.
While I think the touchpad is an awesome device and disagree with many of the complaints about CM9 being showstoppers, thought I'd share the Acer Iconia a500 is $299 on woot.com. Today only, while supplies last. 32 GB, 10.1" screen, tegra 2 1GHz dual core, 1GB RAM, microSD slot, running honeycomb. Similar specs to the TouchPad, but was designed for Android.
Sent from my Galaxy S II (i777)
Acer Iconia a500 is $299 on woot.com
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Click to collapse
don't think it worth 130$ more.
IMHO:
If you have low budget and you are not perfectionist - buy touchpad. Yes, it's not perfect, it still have some bugs in 2.3 but they are minor and overall it's working pretty good. And stable enough 4.0 we will probably see in next few months.
Also check 7" formfactor, if you like it then probably better to wait for asus 7" tablet for 250$.
If you have 500-600$ in your pocket that you don't need, wait for updated transformer prime or something like this
getbuzzin said:
Consider this: ASUSEee Pad MeMO 370T. For about $250 you get a quad core 7" that comes with ICS. Of course you are going to have to wait to get one like the rest of us until the second quarter of the year. I'm planning on picking one of these bad boy when it comes out.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah, heard about that and it sounds too good a bargain too. But does ASUS have good android development around? At least i can see that the touchpad has a ready team of developers right now...
and the $250 is the dual core model..
go for it, not only can u run android but web os and Linux this thing is pretty much the hd2 of tablets, I just picked up mine for 150$ and I'm loving it.
my honest review...
I've never owned an 'official' android tablet. I have 2 touchpads and one nook color. The HP touch pad is a great device. But there are some serious downsides:
1: fit & finish... there's a reason for so many refurbished models. My wife's is hardly used and has a cracked case near the speaker. It has maybe 2 hours of use total. And its been in a case 100% of the time. No explanation HP. None at all. I won't send it back because everything else works.
2: Android is a shoehorn and always will be. The current WIFI and kernel glitch are the only two real downsides to android on the Touch pad. If you use Gtalk w/video chat or Skype also stay away. The front camera isn't working, but it sucks anyways so IMO its not an issue. ICS is the only way to use the touch pad. GB was more stable but ICS is built for tablets and it shows. The kernel being very buggy for OTG is also a annoyance.
3: its a little heavier and a little thicker than the competition. Its noticeable but not really bad. The formfactor is also much different. The Touchpad is square like the iPad and the Xoom, 10.1, Transformer are more rectangular. If you like holding an original iPad then this isn't much different. Don't discount WebOS either. Its a very pretty OS. It has a lot of nice features. I don't use it much but its not awful and useless like some people make it. It is going to find much less use now that ICS brings that killer web browser.
My conclusion.....
The touchpad is still a sweet deal. 170ish for a 10in 1.5ghz 1GB ram 16GB is great. The nook tablet comes close but its more expensive and 7in. When you start getting close to 250 for a 32GB its a little rougher, especially with the deals on woot and stuff. Also compusa has refurb Transformer 16gb for 299 which isn't bad.
Sent From Nexi - The Galaxy Nexus
Padfone or G-Nexus-7 combination
I've been using a SIM-free (unlocked and rooted) Motorola Atrix 4G with the lapdock everyday as my "daily-driver" phone/laptop solution since April of last year. I used the webtop, and later on, a modded version of Gentoo with Google Docs and Libre Office to get things done. I work at a university, so if I need something other than regular office software, I just use one of the hundreds of workstations I have access to on our campuses-- I've never experienced the so-called limitations that the lapdock+phone combo presents, and the fact that I ride very crowded trains in Tokyo precludes me from bringing my $1500+ laptop around everyday.
So when the Asus Padfone came out, I was sure that this would be my upgrade path! A phone that goes into a tablet that clips onto a keyboard. Brilliant! But hang on-- now there's the Nexus 7... Pure Google, and OPEN... That plus a Galaxy-Nexus... hmmmmm.... Could that also do the trick??
Well, there's always "let's wait and see a few more months..." But the obvious happened a week ago-- my Atrix's screen gave up the ghost... Sure I can plug it into HDMI, and use the lapdock just fine, but I can't use it as a phone... GRRRR!! Oh, and check out my location to the left-- I live in JAPAN, but I travel a lot, and go back to the US every year; actually, I'm going home in a week for a month!! So I NEED a phone either just before I go, or when I get there....
REQUIREMENTS:
- SIM Free (unlocked): I travel. A lot. Internationally. I needs my unlock!
- Multi-band support: Japan uses 2100MHz for HSPA+, and so does most of Asia. The US is 850, 1900, 1700... I'd like to find a phone that supports both of these... The Padfone will only support the Asian frequency, but nothing in the States-- I'd be stuck on 2G back home for a month... I can tolerate that though because I'll at least have AT&T hotspot support. The G-Nexus of course has a PENTABAND 3G radio (why the F don't other phones <other than the iPhone> have this same radio?!) so it'll work with whatever network I throw at it.
- Open bootloader/Rooted: One of the things I really enjoyed about my Atrix was being able to tweak tweak tweak. The Nexus devices don't need an explanation here-- They're designed to root and tweak. The Padfone can be rooted now--but it's bootloader is locked... But with the exotic tweaks made to get the tablet and phone UI to work, I doubt I'd use a custom ROM anyhow.
- Tablet/Phone combo: I got spoiled by my Atrix. Being able to use a physical keyboard to respond to an incoming text message is really habit-forming. Especially if I need to type it in Japanese. Of course the Padfone would win here... Not sure if there's an app that lets you see the text and MMSs on a phone through a tablet though. The other obvious thing here is that the Padphone *IS* the tablet, once docked into the PadStation. No tethering, no separate data plan, no hotspot needed. The G-Nexus-7 combo would see me tethering the G-Nex to the Nex-7. Is there a simple app that can make an on-demand data connection between the two happen at will?
- Updates: This is what pissed me off about Motorola. The OG Atrix's Tegra 2 processor can more than handle ICS, but here it is almost 6 months later, and nothing. Luckily I can get Kang builds, but certain things just don't work for me--for example Chrome crashes ALL the time. Camera sucks, etc. Hence, I'm over using another Moto device. Obviously the Nexus duo will ALWAYS get the latest and greatest; no-brainer there. Asus? The TF series got their updates to ICS within the first 3 months IIRC. Since Jelly Bean is just a point update, perhaps the Padfone will see an update in the fall sometime--I can live with that.
- Ease of use: Not the OS, but the physical pieces... The G-Nex-7 combo is easy in the way that both are able to use the same charger (micro USB). Padfone just nests together. I like how the Padfone keyboard has USB ports and an SD card slot... Not to mentin BATTERIES galore. It's hard as hell trying to find a place to charge my phone all the time, and sometimes I'd just use the Moto's lapdock as a battery charger!
- Price: this is the kicker... The Galaxy Nexus/ Nexus 7 Combo will come out to less than US$600 when bought from the Google store. Even buying from a grey-market distributor in Taiwan, I can't buy the Padfone/PadStation/Keyboard combo for less that US$1000... I have barely that much to spend though.
Friends, I need some help deciding! Here are my pros and cons for each device as it stands today. I'm posting this in the Padfone, Galaxy Nexus, Nexus 7, and my old Motorola Atrix forums as well. I want some good honest and thoughtful opinions-- no haterism, flaming, or retardedness please. This is an extremely important purchase for me, and needs to be done ASAP.
As always, thank you so much for your opinions!
Your answer is in the OP. You're welcome.
starrwulfe said:
Not sure if there's an app that lets you see the text and MMSs on a phone through a tablet though
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Click to collapse
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.apdroid.tabtalk
And if you need a physical keyboard you can get a compact Bluetooth one off eBay for like $35 (maybe less?)
I own the Prime. Asus is TERRIBLE with their software support. Absolutely terrible. Go with the Nexus and enjoy quality software support from Google.
Sent from my Transformer Prime TF201 using xda premium
Psipherious said:
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.apdroid.tabtalk
And if you need a physical keyboard you can get a compact Bluetooth one off eBay for like $35 (maybe less?)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanx for that app tip! That's going on the "save" list. I can go to Akihabara (the famous Tokyo electronics shopping area) and get one for maybe even less--that's definitely part of my solution if I do the G-Nex-7 thing.
nyijedi said:
I own the Prime. Asus is TERRIBLE with their software support. Absolutely terrible. Go with the Nexus and enjoy quality software support from Google.
Sent from my Transformer Prime TF201 using xda premium
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
And I've heard about ASUS's bad support at times... One of the reasons I switched from using an HP laptop to an Apple one, was because I can walk into any Apple store worldwide and get help with it. (I'm just as mad about them suing everyone into oblivion, and I'm not that flattered with iOS the way I am with Android, but I loves me some OSX for sure.)
Keep the opinions coming y'all. Thanx!
I've owned more than enough Android devices and the thing that always leaves me disenchanted with them in the end is the update fragmentation. I have the n7 on preorder and my x2 is set to be replaced by the g-nex in August. This is just my opinion but I think it's insane that I have to keep flashing roms that may or may not have all of my hardware working correctly just to get an update. Nexus devices represent what I feel google should have done at Androids launch to combat Apple. I plan to use my n7 as an iPad alternative until Windows Surface launches and I can get a tab with fully featured office for productivity.
Sent from my DROID X2 using xda premium
nyijedi said:
I own the Prime. Asus is TERRIBLE with their software support. Absolutely terrible. Go with the Nexus and enjoy quality software support from Google.
Sent from my Transformer Prime TF201 using xda premium
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ya i've been waiting for the new asus infinity to come out but i know it will never get updated and i can at least get a bluetooth keyboard or some extra keyboard hooked up to the nexus 7 and type away
Gnex + N7 combo hands down.
Nexcellent said:
Gnex + N7 combo hands down.
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+1
10char
Nexcellent said:
Gnex + N7 combo hands down.
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Click to collapse
Exactly this. If for nothing else, these two solid reasons:
A GNex + a Nexus 7 are cheaper than a Padfone
And the battery on the GSM model of the GNex is excellent compared to its LTE counterpart.
Treat yourself to some delicious Jelly Bean. =]
Not to mention, you can just buy the $70 3800mAh extended battery from Seidio with NFC if you are worried about battery life, and you'll still be paying way less than the Padfone. I ordered one for my dad's Verizon GNex the other day, and will finally be able to put in his phone when he comes home on sunday, since no other battery has been good enough, even with the Gummy ROM on his phone. =[
Hmm. Good point. One of my main concerns is battery life since I'll be tethering with this combo a lot. I forgot the NFC chip is in the battery and not the body... also I wonder if NFC is compatible with the Felicia systems used here in Japan for things like train passes and e-money.... the phone I'm using now has it... not a necessity though.
Sent from my SBM005SH using xda-developers app
seff5677 said:
Ya i've been waiting for the new asus infinity to come out but i know it will never get updated and i can at least get a bluetooth keyboard or some extra keyboard hooked up to the nexus 7 and type away
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I wouldn't just worry about timely updates. I'd worry about decent performance. My Prime is a quad core device and it sucks total ass at playing games, browsing, and just about everything else. Constant lags and crashes. It's enraging. Do yourself a favor and stay away from Asus devices (the Nexus 7 will likely be different since it's a google device). You'll save yourself some huge headaches.
Sent from my Transformer Prime TF201 using xda premium
I think it's incredibly odd that there is so much Asus hate yet the N7 is an Asus device itself. Performance-wise with the N7, i'd imagine apps would perform similarly to the transformer prime seeing as it uses the same processor...
jpxdude said:
I think it's incredibly odd that there is so much Asus hate yet the N7 is an Asus device itself. Performance-wise with the N7, i'd imagine apps would perform similarly to the transformer prime seeing as it uses the same processor...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The reason for the Asus hate is not their hardware, it's how they bloat up the OS after google passes it off to them. With the n7 Asus has nothing to do with the OS, they just make the hardware.
Sent from my DROID X2 using xda premium
So far most responses seem to support the Nexus combo.
I, however, when reading how you use your devices was thinking PadFone all the way. It seems like a better fit for you.
But just my 2 cents.
CGI_Ram said:
So far most responses seem to support the Nexus combo.
I, however, when reading how you use your devices was thinking PadFone all the way. It seems like a better fit for you.
But just my 2 cents.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The problem is, I think most of the benefits he would get from the padfone would be too minor to justify a $300-$400 price premium. And I am also not sure how well the phone part of it does by itself etc, Ive yet to check some reviews of the padfone. For all that extra money he could by himself some nice cases, screen protectors, bluetooth headsets etc. Even a pack of those little nfc coin things he might be able to put to good use.
Sent from my HTC Mecha using xda premium
jpxdude said:
I think it's incredibly odd that there is so much Asus hate yet the N7 is an Asus device itself. Performance-wise with the N7, i'd imagine apps would perform similarly to the transformer prime seeing as it uses the same processor...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Believe me, I was super pissed when word leaked that Asus was making the Nexus tablet. I'm not buying one solely for that reason. However, I do think the N7 should be okay since Google is taking care of the software instead of Asus and oversaw the hardware. Asus is completely incompetent. Google is not.
And as a Prime owner, if apps on the N7 perform similarly as the Prime, I'd suggest throwing it in the garbage. All browsers, Google Earth, tegra games - they're god awful on the Prime. Some of them are literally unusable. With that said, I'm sure apps on the N7 will run great thanks to Google.
Have I mentioned how awful Asus is?
Sent from my Transformer Prime TF201 using xda premium
I also use the Atrix + Laprtock as my entire molbile solution. And this includes "real" work which needs substantial typeing and screen real estate.
For me, dropping down to 10 inch would be a killer. I have tried using 10 inch netbooks, and it is a real pain. But maybe the OP can get away with this (younger eyes on a higher res screan, perhaps smaller fingers/hands).
But no way in the world can one work like this on a 7 inch screen.
If one is using the pair for light browsing + media then I cerrtainly see the GN + N7 as a sound choice. But for a working laptop replacement, not for me. Alas I am not certain a padphone works either (though I like the concept). I would certainly be concerned about the phone itself (there are a lot of deatils in this area that do not show up in specs, ask Apple).
A shame the OP just busted his scrreen. I suspect the right answer is to wait several months.
exwannabe said:
I also use the Atrix + Laprtock as my entire molbile solution. And this includes "real" work which needs substantial typeing and screen real estate.
For me, dropping down to 10 inch would be a killer.
But no way in the world can one work like this on a 7 inch screen.
A shame the OP just busted his scrreen. I suspect the right answer is to wait several months.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I had exactly that same question, so I trekked over to the local electronics shop near my home here in Yokohama, and they have an Asus TF201 set up there on wifi. The tablet's dimensions are Padfone sized-- 10 inches. They also had the keydock there too, so I got to test that out as well... Wow. Color me impressed. Remember, the 10" IPS screen has more pixels and a much wider and brighter viewing angle than the Moto OG Lapdock. The keyboard was also easy to type on, and I love the fact that there are actual keys for Home, Back, Volume, Menu, Play/Pause and so on.
CGI_Ram said:
So far most responses seem to support the Nexus combo.
I, however, when reading how you use your devices was thinking PadFone all the way. It seems like a better fit for you.
But just my 2 cents.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You're right-- It does seem like a better fit to me too, the more I think of it. Going and actually futzing with the TF201 yesterday didn't help though...
TauxiC said:
The problem is, I think most of the benefits he would get from the padfone would be too minor to justify a $300-$400 price premium. And I am also not sure how well the phone part of it does by itself etc, Ive yet to check some reviews of the padfone. For all that extra money he could by himself some nice cases, screen protectors, bluetooth headsets etc. Even a pack of those little nfc coin things he might be able to put to good use.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The phone part did pretty well according to Anandtech and Engadget--
Bear in mind that this is supposed to be saving me the cost of getting a netbook to take to work with me everyday as well too... As far as accessories, well I already have 2 bluetooth headsets just sitting on my desk in front of me now, along with a microUSB to USB port adaptor and micro HDMI M/F cables. All this was from me using the Atrix in various situations.
And while the Nexus Duo is a powerful combo, there are 2 things that I absolutely need to have in a device for the way I work-- SD card adaptor and Ethernet Adaptor.
I work in the Media faculty at the university and also teach photojournalism classes; I also freelance a lot too, and one of the things that helps me a lot, is being able to yank my SD card out the camera, snap it into a USB card reader and plug it into the Lapdock and have the Atrix see it, mount it, and access it. I can then do whatever I need to do to the pix while sitting on the train (Did you know the Bullet Trains here all have Wifi onboard, and can be used while in tunnels? I once wrote and uploaded 2 magazine articles, pix and all while on a 3 hour train ride!) The Padfone's keyboard dock has a full sized SDXC card adapter built in...
Also, while my university has wifi almost everywhere on campus, I cannot access the secured parts of the network where we house our common files for grading and such. We can only use the PC labs, office PC pools, or the ethernet ports in the staff rooms. Currently I use a small wifi adapter in bridge mode sometimes-- of course with the SSID not broadcast. But a better solution would be to get a USB Ethernet adaptor. I know the Transformer series has this baked into their kernels-- I think the Padfone can do it too. But I need to do some checking.
Can the Nexus Duo do some/any of these? Let me know how, so I can check off the boxes!
I wouldn't touch an android or ios tablet after the specs of the Microsoft surface the other windows 8 tablet with ivy bridge processors were revealed. Im done with android on anything but my smartphone. Only thing I need to know is the batter life on those beast.
Hi,
I have been thinking about buying a Android tablet for some time. I don't really need a tablet, but would like to give it a try anyhow. I would probably use it mostly for surfing the web, reading new sites and watching movies when on the train. I might play some games from time to time. I would also like to use it for Skype voice and video chat. I'm also prepared to root the device and flash custom roms for better performance.
At the moment the Galaxy Tab 8.9 (Wifi) is on sale for about $ 220 here in Switzerland. It seems like a good deal for this tablet and within the amound of money I am prepared to spend for something "unnessecary", but would you still buy it given that the hardware is somewhat dated? How well does Skype work?
Any advice is greately appreciated!
Cheers
TiredHornet
To my opinion, the Galaxy Tab 8.9 has a unique form factor and weight (approx 420g), that make it still very desirable to my eyes. The screen is very good. ICS with an alternative launcher like 'Nova' or 'Apex' makes it lovely to use on a daily basis (I don't appreciate the Touchwiz one much).
I learned to live without any sd card expansion slot. I bought a 32gb model to compensate for the lack of memory extension, but finally I don't use the internal storage at all, except of course for apps. If I had to buy it again, I would simply stick with the 16Gb version...
The only complain I have is the outdated Tegra 2 processor, that's why I use to overclock a little bit (1.2Ghz). Works like a charm.
PS: I tested Skype a little bit and seemed good enough to me and to the people at the other end.
Yes, definitely. sgauge points out some great benefits of the 8.9, the form factor is just right. I'm still using 3.2 Overcome Rom also OC'd to 1.2 and really it runs super smooth. I also have the 16gb and that's plenty of space. I bought the usb dongle which can read off a usb stick so no need to carry movies on the tablet itself. It's really replaced my laptop for internet browsing, following live sports streams online and casual emailing. Just an extra aside, but I also invested in the official external keyboard and dock (amazon uk had them at rock bottom prices a few weeks back) and they are classy add-ons making the tablet a real smart package. And with ICS seemingly here, perhaps I'll think of upgrading my rom too!
Update: Skype works great, impressed with video/sound quality and stability!
Hmm, $220 for a 8.9 is practically a steal
It helps to know what you want it for, but I use it on train commute, and a lot of casual browsing on the couch. Basically, I could use my phone for that, but the tablet has more comfort and battery.
I find the 16gb not enough, if you take it on holiday and want some movies. I got the usb reader for $3 dollars shipped from China (ebay), much better value than €30 local shop.
I dislike the weight and size of a 10.1, to the point that I think 8.0 to 8.5 should be ideal size.
Good luck
Thx for all the advice! I think I'm going to go the shop right now and have a look at the tablet. I had it in my hands some month ago and found the size really good. And with the official ICS release starting to roll out, it is probably a even better deal at $220.
I bought it in Ch (living in Constance) and absolutely love it.
Had an Acer Iconia A500 before, the difference in weight and quality is huuuge.
After Installing JB it works like a charm!
If your local M.Electronics is out of stock, you can just place a reservation. I waited for 1 day
In fact, I did just buy a Tab 8.9 -- Cowboom had a bunch of preowned ones for sale. I snagged a Condition 7 (looks brand new, came with all accessories other than headphones) for $170 shipped. I love the size. Every 10" tablet I looked at was too big for comfortable reading, but the 7" tablets just felt...cramped.
Go for it
$220 is a real steal! And with ICS now it will be just awesome!
Idlekilla said:
$220 is a real steal! And with ICS now it will be just awesome!
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Click to collapse
Agreed. Having seen the difference in how my 8.9 ran on Honeycomb and now on ICS, it's like a different tablet! If you can pick up one of these tablets for less than $200 then jump on it.
Next phone or tablet is a nexus for sure
im done with samsung
- Form factor is just perfect.
- the ics runs great so no tensions for some time to come.
- 10.1 is too big, 7 is too small.
- 7.7 is close but too pricey.
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My tf101 just broke now using as a Google TV and my tab is galaxy 8.9 and I bought it for $150
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TiredHornet said:
Thx for all the advice! I think I'm going to go the shop right now and have a look at the tablet. I had it in my hands some month ago and found the size really good. And with the official ICS release starting to roll out, it is probably a even better deal at $220.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Have fun with it. I doubt you will regret.
I bought the 8.9 so that when my partner and I went camping we could watch movies that we had, ahem, aquired.
It was perfect for just that reason with the desktop dock and the SD / USB adapters.
Now that we are back from holidays, it's perfect for general surfing and stuff like solving arguments where powering up the PC would take too long to Google something and the phone screen would bee too small / fiddly.
8.9 was the best form facto for my needs and I do not see any need to change to a bigger screen, if I wanted a bigger screen - Netbook / Laptop yet I would have to wait for it to boot up, so, long story short, I love the 8.9 and would definately buy it.
Hope this helps!
I like the form factor, the screen and the build quality seems solid. I hate the proprietary plug in on the bottom. Afraid I'm going to lose the cord and be unable to charge the thing till I get another one from Samsung. It should be the mini USB everyone,minus Apple and Sammy, uses. Charge times are completely ridiculous, taking hours upon hours to get to full but the drain times are pretty good. Hopefull the ICS update fixes charge times, or at least makes it bearable. And no SD card slot sucks, plain and simple. Other than that it's pretty good....
Personally, I love it. I bought mine for about 400 dollars and didn't regret it ever since. For 220$, this is an absolute must. The size is optimal and the overall feel of the tablet is just...perfect. Go for it, champ!
Well I have to say out of all the tablets I have (most samsung ones, asus, nexus7, ipads etc) the galaxy tab 8.9 is probably the best feel for a semi-mobile tablet... However after looking at the samsung support and release cycle across the devices I have, I doubt I will ever buy samsung again tbh. Just an opinion...
I love the hardware, don't like the Samsung software. Waiting for the rom hackers to put the official ICS to use and build a full featured JB rom and then it'll probably beat the Nexus 7 as my favorite device.
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Looking to buy an 8.9. Anybody know where I can find one in the US?? Thanks
I just bought an 8.9 3G 32Gb for £250, which I think is a real bargain. Vodafone 3G SIM is very fast in my area, and I soon as I can work out how to get an official version of ICS or JB onto it, I will be laughing! 8.9" form factor is ideal for me, and Skype works great... and I find i'm using Skype alot more than I do on my laptop.... it's pretty sweet all around. Go for it! Touchwiz and all the Bloatware suck, so if you work out how to remove them, let me know!
I have a Nexus 7 2012 that I am going to pass that down to my youngest daughter for Xmas and I am thinking about a replacement.
Everything I've read seems to point to this as something that will handle my college school work (CS) and still be able to have some fun with it (games, media, traveling, etc).
The keyboard dock is what elevates this and the only close competitor seems to be the HP Slatebook X2 (as far as I can tell).
My question is, would you buy it NOW, or wait until spring 2015 to see if there is something new that competes with the Transformer TF701 ? Is there even talk of a replacement model??
Thanks!
I am in the same boat. I have owned three prevoius Transformer model. FYI don't the HP tablet, owned it for a week and return it. The TF701 looks attractive with the pricing now
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I think it's a good tablet for a lower price yes.
I would not say do not buy it as it is good.
It may not be the best however with what may soon come out, but we'll likely be paying for that, whatever that is(nvidia, octacores, hybrids etc.)
For gaming is very good and as a development device I would say so. It needs more developers.
Although the tegra targeted games are limited and more directed toward the Shield. But it shouldnt matter. Games like Dead Trigger 2, need 4 speed MW show you that its quite capable. I would say if it meets your needs and your on a budget it might make it ideal. :good:
YayYouFixedIt said:
I think it's a good tablet for a lower price yes.
I would not say do not buy it as it is good.
It may not be the best however with what may soon come out, but we'll likely be paying for that, whatever that is(nvidia, octacores, hybrids etc.)
For gaming is very good and as a development device I would say so. It needs more developers.
Although the tegra targeted games are limited and more directed toward the Shield. But it shouldnt matter. Games like Dead Trigger 2, need 4 speed MW show you that its quite capable. I would say if it meets your needs and your on a budget it might make it ideal. :good:
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Click to collapse
My thought about this device was that it would allow be to still have great screen resolution, still give a lot of flexibility with ports and expansion, and be much smaller/lighter than lugging my aging macbook pro 15" around to school.
What about the KitKat sd card writing issue? I've never unlocked any of my android devices and it sounds like if I get the TF701 that I'm going to have an issue being able to expand the memory. I am hoping to use this in class which means I may need to write to USB keys or sd cards.
It's either this device or a chromebook (and I don't think a chromebook will work for my school work).
dsnye said:
My thought about this device was that it would allow be to still have great screen resolution, still give a lot of flexibility with ports and expansion, and be much smaller/lighter than lugging my aging macbook pro 15" around to school.
What about the KitKat sd card writing issue? I've never unlocked any of my android devices and it sounds like if I get the TF701 that I'm going to have an issue being able to expand the memory. I am hoping to use this in class which means I may need to write to USB keys or sd cards.
It's either this device or a chromebook (and I don't think a chromebook will work for my school work).
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Click to collapse
I dont see a problem with the microsd card myself.
I dont own a dock so I cant say how well those features are working. I wouldnt think theres too much of an issue.
I would not buy a chromebook myself. I never owned one and would not as it sounds like it is only limited to a web browser and as well having security and privacy issues. I could be wrong.
Could this be a total replacement for a mac or pc? Hard for me to say. Not likely.
There is no touch in the recovery yet. No linux yet afaik. But you can use linux deploy and vnc quite well to it. Not really an issue. I like the HDMI out. Get a proper game controller and its a gaming platform. We'll see what the future holds with Lollipop on the way.
Otherwise I think it has been pretty good. If you can return it and get it at a good price. Might be worth a try.
For what it's worth...
dsnye said:
I have a Nexus 7 2012 that I am going to pass that down to my youngest daughter for Xmas and I am thinking about a replacement.
Everything I've read seems to point to this as something that will handle my college school work (CS) and still be able to have some fun with it (games, media, traveling, etc).
The keyboard dock is what elevates this and the only close competitor seems to be the HP Slatebook X2 (as far as I can tell).
My question is, would you buy it NOW, or wait until spring 2015 to see if there is something new that competes with the Transformer TF701 ? Is there even talk of a replacement model??
Thanks!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This is the age old dilemma we tech fans face. Do we wait for that next big "shiny" just around the corner. The difficulty is that there will always be something bigger and better just around the corner. And the thing to remember also, as was pointed out by another poster, when it does arrive, it will be at a premium price.
So, for what it's worth, I'd say, if the tablet satisfies your needs now and a little in the future, go ahead and get it now. I had a 700, and migrated to a 701. And for all the little irritating "bumps" with Asus/KK, etc, I'm very happy with my tablet. When the new thing arrives, if you have the cash, and it appeals to you, get that one. In the mean time, you'll be having fun with the 701. If you simply wait, you'll be missing out on a lot of utility/fun.
I loves me my baby. :silly:
warning:
you unlock bootloader, you void your whole warranty(including hardware warranty).
So unless you don't want to root, go buy a nexus device.
alvinma said:
warning:
you unlock bootloader, you void your whole warranty(including hardware warranty).
So unless you don't want to root, go buy a nexus device.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That is a good point.
I'm biased and I do like this tablet very much, but at this point in time I probably would think about it more.
They put a lot of power behind those Chromebooks. I'm not so sure why. Supposedly you can dual boot Linux on them. But they some have arm as well as Tegra k1 processors. Hard to say how linux would install and operate on them.
You can always buy one and return it.......so you can have a taste of the ddifference between a nexus tablet and this one.
personally I recommend you buy a nexus 9 or nexus 10, not only because the better user experience(yes it hardly feels like butter smoth on ASUS stock 4.3), but also because of the customer support and quality ensured by Google, Samsung &htc. I went to RMA my TF701t recently and their serve cenTer is full of the smell of bureaucracy, 4 PPL at front desk doing nothing.......leaves me imagining charges after void warranty goes into those ppl's pocket.......so not gonna buy any ASUS product in the future......
The OP mentions he may need to be able to read and write to USB keys and SD cards, for which the TF701 and dock would be much more convenient. None of the Nexus tablets has a card slot, and to read flash drives you'd need to install a third-party file browser and use a USB OTG adaptor.
I'm guessing the lack of news from Asus means that they're giving up on the high end of the tablet market, so there may be no true successor to the TF701.
I think the TF701 is still great feature-wise, but you should try to get a broad-coverage warranty if you buy it! There have been too many users with dock problems, and as others have mentioned you'll void Asus' warranty if you unlock the bootloader to install custom roms.